The burqa, a traditional dress of conservative Muslim women which completely covers the face, is also becoming the disguise of choice for criminals. This week a man dressed in a burqa staged an armed hold up in Sydney, just as another bank robber and a jewellery thief did the same in the UK, sparking calls for Australia to follow other countries and ban the traditional dress. The new form of criminal disguise has seen a range of reactions - from people calling for a complete ban, to just a ban in banks, and other people calling for a ban in all public buildings. Radio 4bcs Michael Smith has been pushing for a change of law for some time. "It needs to be banned in areas around the shop, around the bank, the chemist, and those sorts of places." Yesterday South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi called for a blanket ban saying, "The burqa is no longer simply the symbol of female repression and Islamic culture, it is now emerging as a disguise of bandits and n'er do wells." But he's since run for cover himself. Attempts to ban it here have been met with strong opposition. 3AW's Neil Mitchell says it is a complete overreaction and illogical. "We've had one case of a man wearing a burqa in a robbery and then this is being argued as a trend. It is nonsense." Ahiida Zanetti who runs a successful Muslim swimwear business called burqinis says, "I think banks are a different issue, but if you're going to ban them on the street are you going to ban beards because people hide <b>...</b>
australia
sydney
melbourne
brisbane
perth
adelaide
victoria
western
queensland
islam
sharia
burqa
nsw
quran
aisha
terror
muhammad
prophet
koran
Samueldeeb
